23 replies to this topic

[Mitchfork]

William

Link, wearing his Iron Boots, makes his way towards the Water Temple. No idea what awaits him inside, he furthers himself towards the entrance. (You wanted custom enemies, and I've brought them).

Orin XD

Why, Lynels on this floating island, why?

aaa2

Yes the Windmill shadows are completely dynamic. All shadows are handdrawn.

King Harkinian

Another Dungeon Shot....

Avataro

Link wants to spy on them

Jared

Looks like that Octorok isn't strong enough to hold down the switch...

Fire Wizzrobe

Monkey prejudice!!!

Pabru

[Aslion]

I voted for Fire Wizzrobe.
I don't feel like actually commenting on any of these, far too many this week~

Can't wait till you post Antarctica, Ebola.

[Ventus]

I Voted for William this week Great job
----------------------------------------------
And i swear i entered this week....?
did something happened to my Screen shot ?

[Dawnlight]

I voted for Fire Wizzrobe. Pabru would have gotten my vote if Ebola Zaire didn't beat you into making a screen like that.

[Cukeman]

Orin XD The staircase should be flipped so that the steps come up to Link.

King Harkinian I think the Ganon statue could use some bright highlights.
It kind of hides in the shadows in a screen where nothing else does.

Avataro I love this shot. The woman in white is really hard to see against that
light colored soil though.

Fire Wizzrobe You've done a really nice job on this screen. Makes me want
to play this game.

Pabru Feels very isolated and not very walkable (even if it is). It just doesn't
appeal to me. It just feels too gray and I find that palette depressing.

EDIT: Voted for Avataro. This feels like a screen I have never seen before,
I get a strong 'new retro' vibe, like I'm looking at Mega Man 10 or something.

Edited by Cukeman, 15 August 2011 - 12:30 AM.

[William]

First time back in awhile, how is everyone? As for the ratings:

Orin - 6/10
It's a solid shot. I can't pick out anything particularly wrong with it, other than the fact that it's a little boring and I'm getting really tired of all this PureZC-in-the-sky stuff. Nothing particular against you, but this screen is something I'd put off as great.

Aaa2 - 3/10
The only reason this rating is a 3/10 instead of a 2/10 is because of the nice shadow work. With the exception of the semi-cool looking shadows, I don't really see anything else in this screen that I like. The colors look very gross, and completely wrong. I understand if you like a lot of color variation in your screens, but that looks simply bad. A pink tent, yellow windmills, purple trees and orange grass are certainly not a pleasant combination, to be honest. In fact, whatever good there was with the detail was completely overruled by the unpleasant colors. The design, also, has flaws. For example, the fence at the top of the screen. I am certainly not a fan of one solid object going from one end of the screen to the other in a straight line. Especially not a fence. Also, in the bottom left the corner it is blocked off by rocks. While that isn't wrong, per say, it certainly doesn't look good in my eyes. May I recommend a mountain-corner there instead? Next, I'd add some solid objects on the edges of the screen. The fact that the screen is so empty around the edges makes it look very hollow, and not in the good way. (For example, Avataro's screen looks hollow, but in the good way.) After that, I'd add some more detail to the screen. The screen's detail is lacking, and therefore makes the screen look rather amateur-ish. Not only that, but the detail this screen does have is extremely random. One more thing: The screen needs a little more action. Link is rather hard to spot in this screen, and he is far away from the two enemies (who are both facing in the opposite direction, anyway.)

tl;dr version: The screen needs a lot of work, but the shadows have some potential. I'd work on the colors first, because they are truly bad, and then I'd work on the design. Start off by removing that fence, because it isn't placed right and looks wrong. Then add some more trees and solid objects to the end of the screen. Next, place some proper detail and enemies. You'll have a good looking, solid screenshot then. I hope I could be of some help!

King - 7/10
I actually really like this dungeon. It seems to have a less random and cool sense of purpose, and the detail is just right. Quite nice. Good work!

Avataro - 7/10
Very crisp and pleasing to the eye. I can't find anything truly wrong with it, with the exception of the old lady blending in too much with the ground. Another nice screen.

Jared - 5.5/10
It's an alright shot. The one thing I have against it is how crowded it is towards the edges. The snow, combined with the detail and forest overhand almost makes the screen chaotic. Remove the snow, and maybe it'll be better. Cut the water back a few tiles, also, to give Link some more breathing room. That'll free up some space and allow the player to think.

Fire Wizzrobe - 8/10
Very nice work you have here. The colors are perfect, as is the detail. While the design isn't the most exciting in the world, the detail and colors more then make up for it. Nothing to critique here, so I'm moving on.

Pabru - 7.5/10
Colors and detail are nice, and the whole screen is pleasant. The whole screen seems to have some real purpose to it, which I'm a real fan of. Good work, all around. This is my second favorite this week.

I nulled, since I'm in it, but I had I not entered I definately woulda gone with Fire Wizzrobe for her beautiful work with EZGBZ. Good work this week, everyone!

[/M/]

I went ahead and voted for Fire Wizzrobe, it is the most visually appealing screenshot of this partion of the competition. Although I dislike the variation of many trees that were used, it is still nice.

[Radien]

Okay, here we go again. Comments for everybody! Yay!!(?)


William:

Hmmm. I'm really not digging the water. The translucency looks okay, but I have no idea what I'm supposed to be seeing here as far as the perspective goes. Is it top-down? Is it seeing from a slight angle?... The water appears on top of mountains that look like they're supposed to be in front of the water. It would be best if you avoided having translucent water lapping against Classic mountains. It just doesn't work.


Orin:

Ahh, a floating island? Very good, very good. You're using the mountain tiles creatively and correctly for what you are doing. The ground is a bit cluttered, though. Are all those dirt patches and pebbles really necessary?... I'd simplify it a bit. But overally, good job.


aaa2:

This is going to come off as harsh, but I'm afraid it needs to be said... no one is going to care about your hand-drawn shadows if you can't use the proper CSets when creating screens. Aside from the fence, the sand, and the boulders, every single combo on this screen uses a CSet that was not meant for it, as far as I can tell. Also, you put windmill blades on top of two water wheels. I'm not even sure how that's supposed to work.

Y'know what... here, I'd like to get this point across, so I remade the screen with a fresh-out-of-the-box DoR tileset file. Please compare.

----->

Note that every single combo on the screen -- yes, every one -- uses CSet 2, CSet 3, or CSet 4. The other CSets are for sprites (like Link and enemies), which you very rarely place on the screen as combos. I also used some alternative graphics for the windmill towers, the grass borders (since SD3 grass is DoR's default grass), the patch of grass on the right, and one of the trees (since you used a "swamp tree" in the middle of a sandy area, which is kinda weird). And I wasn't sure why you had those chimneys coming out of... um... the ground, so I just laid down the large windmill towers in their place.

I hope you use this image as an example. I'm sorry if it seems a little pushy for me to remake your screen, but it's because plenty of people make this kind of mistake and I want to do what I can to prevent it.


King Harkininan:

Hmm, not sure what to say here. It's a perfectly solid shot, although I wonder if maybe you've got a little too much going on here. Since I don't know what all these objects do, I have to guess what the screen is about. Still, it looks pretty decent.


Avataro:

I'm not a fan of those enlarged Classic bushes, but aside from that this is a perfectly good Classic screen. Umm. What else is there to say? This screenshot is about on par with most games of the NES era.


Jared:

Aha, now we're getting somewhere. This is a nice shot. I'm not sure about the water/ice borders, but everything else works quite well. My only suggestion is why not put some trees poking out of the snowy brush? DoR has tiles for that doesn't it?... If not, I need to make some!...


Fire Wizzrobe:

Well, there are a few too many types of walkable terrain overlapping each other, and I'd use no more than two types of trees per region. But aside from that... good job! It looks like a solid GBC screen! Work on finishing that subscreen sometime.


Pabru:

Hmmm. If I could make a suggestion: when using those stone temple tiles, it might be a good idea to limit yourself to either grass or dirt, but not both. DoR's dark dirt tends to make screens very high contrast, and it's a little distracting. The player needs to know where to walk, right?... Otherwise, very nice. Next time consider doing an in-player shot with sprites, maybe?

Also, moar subscreen, blah blah blah.



All things considered, I decided to vote for Fire Wizzrobe since his looked like the most complete and playable screen (albeit without a subscreen). However, there were several nearly-equal contenders this week. I hope everybody keeps up the good progress.

[judasrising]

sorry i allready voted

Edited by judasrising, 15 August 2011 - 05:07 AM.

[Rover]

Pabru This is a very nice screen. It won my vote, I like the whole "feel" of the screen overall.

Fire Wizzrobe This screen would have been my second vote, a really good screen. I don't really like the GB tileset, but it seems like you used it well. (I can't think of anything else to say about it)

William I think the perspective is supposed to be that Link and enemies are supposed to be underwater. The ninja shooting beams is a nice touch also, but it's not the best screen this week.

Orin XD I think it's a decent screen, and the floating island is kind of cool. It just doesn't stick out in my mind compared to some stuff on here.

aaa2 I agree that the colors do not look correct, and that's a big killer. If you would have got the colors correct, this would have been a fine good screen, and it could have possibly been a close second.

King Harkinian A GB dungeon shot, it looks good from as far as I can tell, but I have nothing else to say.

Avataro The custom tiles are a nice little detail, but it's just a standard classic screen. Doesn't stand out in this competition, it could have had a bit more detail somehow.

Jared A good snowy screen. I really like it, I'll even go as far to say that it would have been my third choice.

[aaa2]

First of all i voted for King Harkininan now his screen makes me wanna play also i like the color clashes(like the blue wheel on green ground very cool). All other screens i really like also they look nice.
The first of all some answers:
@William the criticism about stones is taken i will look if i can change it without breaking the design on the next screen. The fence i will also look if i can change. On the colors though i must stay subborn i am sorry but dont worry i wont hurt your eyes again by posting a shot of the screen.
@Radien
I hope you dont feel insulted by me raping your tileset. I understand your criticism and i know how to use the colors i am supposed to use however i have to say i dont like to use it. But none the less i really appreciate how you redid the screen and it showed me that i should at the very least use a different style for the orange grass. I will change the style of it not the color though i am sorry. About the wrong use of trees i am also aware of it and consciously chose those particular trees. How the waterwheels and the windmill blades work together is easy to explain. You probably know a dynamo on bike. The bikewheel is turning and rubbing against the wheel from the dynamo from one side and through friction is set into movement. The windmill blades are supposed to work in a similar way. The wheel is turning and rubbing against the turnable axis of the blades are connected to and thus the windmill blades are set into motion. I severely hope that you are not holding a grudge for me raping your tileset by for example using wrong c-sets.

On a sidenote even my wife hates the colors i chose . I love them though.
Maybe once i am done with the game i might make an additional version with the "normal" c-sets but i would wait at least a year until i release the one with "normal" colors(of course the year starting from once i am done with the game).

Edited by aaa2, 15 August 2011 - 05:35 AM.

[Radien]

@Radien
I hope you dont feel insulted by me raping your tileset. I understand your criticism and i know how to use the colors i am supposed to use however i have to say i dont like to use it. But none the less i really appreciate how you redid the screen and it showed me that i should at the very least use a different style for the orange grass. I will change the style of it not the color though i am sorry. About the wrong use of trees i am also aware of it and consciously chose those particular trees. How the waterwheels and the windmill blades work together is easy to explain. You probably know a dynamo on bike. The bikewheel is turning and rubbing against the wheel from the dynamo from one side and through friction is set into movement. The windmill blades are supposed to work in a similar way. The wheel is turning and rubbing against the turnable axis of the blades are connected to and thus the windmill blades are set into motion. I severely hope that you are not holding a grudge for me raping your tileset by for example using wrong c-sets.

On a sidenote even my wife hates the colors i chose . I love them though.
Maybe once i am done with the game i might make an additional version with the "normal" c-sets but i would wait at least a year until i release the one with "normal" colors(of course the year starting from once i am done with the game).

"Raping" is pretty strong word. Unless you replaced all the Link and enemy sprites with walking genetalia, I don't think you're "raping" my tileset.

I understand the desire for weird colors. Heck, have you seen level palette 018, also known as "Shroomin"?... It's right in the DoR tileset. Here's how my redesign of your screen looks with it:



Hehe, weird can be fun. Colors are an easy way to turn something normal into something bizarre and dreamlike.

Also, here are a couple of other psychadelic (or at least unusual) screenshots that Pabru made. You may have seen them since they were in recent SOTW contests:



I think they both work very well. Of course, I realize these types of palettes might not serve your needs. You may want something very specific that is different from all of these palettes. However, that's not a problem, because unusual level palettes can be made for you. If you would like a palette with purple and blue trees, yellow grass, and orange sand, I'm sure that could be arranged. That would avoid some of the unintentional side effects of using sprite CSets for overworld combos, like the random white pixels on the tree stump and the grass patch on the right, or the weird blue "halo" around the orange grass. Using a level palette to attain the strange colors you want would make it look much more intentional to the player.

People who post in Developer's Exchange for help with palette creation usually get all the help they need. That's because palette creation is a very easy and enjoyable task, at least for some of us anyway (others have a harder time with it). Let us know if you would like a palette with very specific colors for the trees/grass/water/ground/etc.

[Adem]

So many shots...

Voted for Fire Wizzrobe. I think the ground detail could be lessened a tad, but hey. Great shots this week, everybody!

[Cukeman]

Just thought I'd point out that Link is in Pabru's shot, he's just good at hiding.

[HollowKnight]

It was a tough call between Fire Wizzrobe and Pabru, but Pabru's took my vote simply because I just find it to be a beautiful combination of palette and execution. You do some beautiful stuff with DoR.